It鈥檚 been almost eight months since the redesigned university website was successfully launched and I want to again thank everyone for their support. Our website is now modern and responsive on all device types, and is better able to support our current and future students.

Site Analytics

With the creation of the new site, one of the goals was to provide custom information for specific audiences. A new landing page was created just for our current students to support their needs and interests and to provide them with timely information. The Current Trojans page has consistently been the second most-visited page on our website (second to our homepage). From April 1 – Sept. 1, that page had 132,283 views. This proves the importance and usefulness of creating a place just for our current students and their needs. We are able to use this page to provide helpful updates and information, such as reminders to get advised and registered for classes. 

Previously, the university website did not have a global footer, which is a helpful, unifying feature that lives on the bottom of every page. The redesigned site has a global footer that includes 10 key links that provide a quick way for prospective students to take action.

From July to September, the Apply link received 4,739 clicks and the Request Info link was clicked 932 times. This is encouraging data and shows us that people are able to take action toward enrollment no matter what page they are on.

Updates and Trainings

Since the launch, we have added new functionality, like the Latest News Block, to better allow department sites to display relevant news stories, without having to write and publish the posts themselves. We look forward to adding additional features in the coming months, such as a custom section to our 

We鈥檝e also held seven training sessions for editors. About 170 people have attended and they now have access to edit their sites. We appreciate everyone鈥檚 eagerness to learn more about editing their sites and how to support the new web guidelines.

We will hold one more training session this semester. If you or someone in your department needs editing access, please send me an email and I will provide more details about registering for the required training in October.

Additionally, there will be a session on Common WordPress Editing Tasks as part of the MarComm Academy on March 10. You can 

Thank you for your continued support!

Go Trojans!

Meaghan

The post Redesigned聽University Website: Analytics and Trainings appeared first on University Website Redesign.

The redesigned university website was successfully launched in February and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. We greatly appreciate your support throughout this transformational project.

The launch of a new website is not the end of the work, however. We will continue to make efficient adjustments and introduce new functionality and tools to better serve our editors and audiences. 

New Functionality for Newsfeeds

We鈥檙e happy to share that a new functionality has been created to better allow News stories to be crossposted to department sites. This was a request we had received from several site editors and it will allow department sites to display relevant news stories, without having to write and publish the posts themselves.

While an RSS feed is one basic solution, we wanted a better way to share content across sites, while continuing to support the new web design. Editors now have access to the Latest News block that will pull in specific posts from the University News site.

Latest News block on the Student Support page on the Centennial website:

Latest News block on the Alumni Association page:

Editors will receive more information and instructions for how to use the Latest News block.

WordPress Training

We have held five group training sessions since March with more than 160 attendees who now have access to edit their sites. Additional training sessions, along with task-specific training sessions, will be held during the fall semester.

Thank you for your continued support!

Go Trojans!

Meaghan

The post Redesigned University Website: Updates appeared first on University Website Redesign.

The redesign focused on simplifying navigation, improving accessibility, and ensuring a seamless digital experience that reflects 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 mission.

Key enhancements include:

• A modern, mobile-friendly design for easier access across devices
• A 30% reduction in outdated content, making information clearer and more relevant
• Improved navigation and organization to help users find what they need faster
• Cloud hosting for increased security, reliability, and performance
• A unified brand experience across digital and print materials

These updates strengthen 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 ability to support students, faculty, and staff by making critical resources more accessible. 

Explore the redesigned site at ualr.edu and see the improvements firsthand.

Thank you again for your support during this process. 

Go Trojans! 

Meaghan Milliorn 

The post 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Launches聽Redesigned聽Website appeared first on University Website Redesign.

As promised in the last campus email, I鈥檓 writing to share some exciting details about the launch of the redesigned university website. We plan to launch the new site between Feb. 25-28.

Key Improvements

When the new site is launched, you will notice that some familiar menus and links may no longer be in their usual spot. As we mentioned in a previous email, the 鈥淢ega Menu鈥� at the top of each page has been updated and reorganized and now includes the main navigation headings of 糖心Vlog传媒, Admissions and Aid, Student Experience, Research, and Community Impact. You can see more screenshots of the new global navigation here.

Additionally, the Quick Links had become a place that listed numerous links for multiple audiences. To better serve these audiences and provide them with important information, two new sites were created: one for Current Students and one for Faculty and Staff. These two sites are linked at the top of every single page for easy access (along with a link to the University Directory). 

The Current Students site and the Faculty and Staff site list the key links and resources that those audiences frequently access, such as the academic calendar, email, Blackboard, and more. I encourage you to bookmark these sites, as they will be updated with important information and resources just for you.

Lastly, for those key links that are accessed by multiple audiences like our alumni and community, you can find those links listed in the global footer on every single page.

One additional improvement you will not actually see is that the new site was built on a cloud-hosted server, which will bring security safeguards, greater data storage capacity, and other technical benefits.

Training

After the new site launches, we will begin rolling out editing access to sites. We will implement new custom editing roles and permissions that will better meet the needs of our site editors.

Site editors will be contacted and invited to a required training session. These training sessions will be offered throughout the year. 

Moving Forward

The first campus email about the redesign was sent May 2022 after the project officially started the year prior. We are excited to finally launch the new site and have our students, faculty, staff, and community benefit from an improved web experience. 

A website is a living tool and now that the site has been completely updated, we will be able to make more efficient and gradual adjustments as needed. The improvements never end, but we are now in a better position to continue evolving ualr.edu. 

We are incredibly thankful for the support and collaboration we have received as we worked to build the new site. 

Go Trojans!

Meaghan

The post Website Launch appeared first on University Website Redesign.

Migration Update

In the last campus email, I shared information about the upcoming website migrations. We have now migrated nearly 80 sites and have about 95 more to go. All sites will be migrated before the December holiday break. We appreciate everyone who has worked with us to accomplish this important phase.

For the sites that have been migrated and editing access has been temporarily removed, we are continuing to work with departments to make mission critical edits to those sites.

Design and Features Preview

During the design feedback phase, many faculty, staff, and students were able to see some of the new designs and features. Here are a couple of those features that we wanted to share with the campus:

Breadcrumbs:

A breadcrumb is a website navigation feature that shows the path to the current page you are on. It helps visitors better understand their location on a website. This is a new feature for ualr.edu that will help visitors navigate through our website. The breadcrumbs will be near the top of each page in the blue (official brand color: ocean) bar.

The example below shows what the breadcrumb would look like if you were on the Department Scholarships page on the Applied Communication website.

Global Navigation:

The global navigation is the 鈥渕ega menu鈥� of links at the top of every page on ualr.edu. When the redesign began, the global navigation contained 118 links. Analytics showed us that many of these links were never clicked on and that the menu was difficult to navigate.

In 2022, we conducted months of research and user testing with students and employees to determine the best organization of the global navigation. When we created the new version, we were able to remove unused links and reorganize the sections in a way that best meets the needs of our audiences.

Current Global Navigation with the Admissions tab open:

New Global Navigation with the renamed Admissions and Aid tab open:

Global Footer:

When a site has the same footer on every page, it provides brand recognition and helps visitors find key information no matter what page they are on. The new site will have a global footer that includes important links for future students. Industry research and insight we received during the information architecture phase showed us that it鈥檚 a very common user experience for visitors to scroll to the bottom of a page to quickly find the key links.

New Global Footer:

While the global footer will be at the very bottom of every page across ualr.edu, each site will still be able to have their own footer that will sit right above the global footer. We were inspired by our agency partner to affectionately refer to this section as 鈥渢he sock.鈥� Your site鈥檚 current footer information will be displayed in the new 鈥渟ock鈥� section of your site.

The launch of a new site will bring some change and adjustments, but these improvements will have a lasting impact for our future and current students. Thank you for your support during this process!

The post Nov. 2024 Migration and Design Preview appeared first on University Website Redesign.

We wanted to share an exciting update on the progress the Office of Communications and Marketing is making toward the redesigned university website.

Current Stats

The university website includes about 180 individual sites. In 2021 when the content audits began, there were 8,614 pages within ualr.edu. Thanks to the crucial content audits where pages were reviewed, updated, combined, and/or removed, we have reduced the number of pages down to 5,383. By conducting these audits and updating the content on each website, we have ensured our website is providing accurate and relevant information to our various audiences and is supporting our university鈥檚 goals. We greatly appreciate your support and collaboration during this work.

Launch Preparation

The launch of the new website will be an exciting moment for our university. We gathered input from several campus partners to determine the least disruptive time of year to launch the new site. We want to avoid launching the site at a time that would negatively impact students.

Our goal is to make final edits in December and begin testing in January. We aim to launch the new site in February 2025.

Development and Migration Planning

The new site is being built on a cloud-based server and the development of our custom designs and new functionality is in progress. Each individual website will need to be migrated (copied) from our current site and moved to the new site. The new site will have improved functionality, a modern design, and will also meet accessibility guidelines.

Migration Phases

Each site鈥檚 migration process will consist of two phases:

• Phase 1: Making a copy of the site and moving it to the new redesigned site on the cloud-based server
• Phase 2: Manually converting parts of that site鈥檚 content into our new, designed block sections

The site鈥檚 content (text, images, forms, buttons, etc.) will be copied to the new site. The new site will have the updated look and feel. We will then manually convert parts of each site鈥檚 homepage into our new, designed blocks. We will repeat this process for all university sites.

When a site is copied over, the old site will still be visible and live, since the work is happening behind the scenes on the new site.

Example of a section of content on our current site:

After manually converting that section of content into one of our designed blocks:

Pausing Content Edits

An essential element of migration will be the need to pause content edits. Once we make a copy of a site, we want to avoid new content and edits being made on the current site because those edits will not be brought over to the new site. Only mission critical edits will be made.

We will work directly with site web editors to adjust access when it鈥檚 time to begin migrating each site. We will also make sure that site editors understand the process to request mission critical edits.

We want to assure site owners that pausing edits is temporary and we will continue to support their site鈥檚 needs during this phase. We will communicate more details soon with the site editors.

Launching the New Site

After all sites have been migrated and the individual homepages have been converted to using the designed blocks, the web team will move forward with officially launching the new website. This involves launching the new homepage and new global navigation.

Prior to launch and throughout 2025, training and additional resources will be provided to site editors to ensure they are supported in the new site.

We know how important the website is in helping future and current students learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Thank you for your support during this process and go Trojans!

The post Oct. 2024 Migration Planning appeared first on University Website Redesign.

The spring semester is in full swing, and I wanted to share an exciting update on the progress the Office of Communications and Marketing is making toward the redesigned university website.

Design Focus Groups

Last month, we held several focus groups to give the campus community a chance to review the wireframes for the new site. Thank you again to those who attended and provided their insight.

After reviewing the feedback on the wireframes, we were able to move forward with the design work and create mockups for the new site. If the wireframes are similar to the floor plans of a house, the design mockups are when the visual style and interior design of the house come into play.

These design mockups incorporate our updated brand colors and design elements that are already being used in print pieces and digital marketing. The mockups also include new styling and web features.

We will be holding several focus groups this week to give the campus community the opportunity to see these new designs. We are excited to share these mockups of the new website.

The focus groups will be held online at select times Feb. 13-15.

Please sign up online if you would like to attend a focus group.

We know how important the website is in helping future and current students learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Thank you for your support during this process and go Trojans!

The post University Website Redesign Update – Feb. 2024 appeared first on University Website Redesign.

I wanted to share an exciting update on the progress the Office of Communications and Marketing is making toward the redesigned university website.

Wireframe Focus Groups

As mentioned in the last email update, we spent the fall semester working with a web agency, Fruition, to finish the wireframes and start the design work. A wireframe is a visual guide that represents the framework of a website. It is similar to how a floor plan shows the structure and layout of a house. We’d like to invite the campus community to provide your insight on the wireframes. We will be holding small online focus groups where you can view the wireframes and offer feedback. This is an important part of the project and ensures the website includes all the necessary content areas before we move on to finalizing the structure.These groups will be held at various times Jan. 11 through Jan. 19. Please sign up online if you would like to attend. Space is limited to allow for more thorough feedback.

Design Work

The new website will incorporate our updated brand colors and design elements that are already being used in print pieces and digital marketing. The site will also include new styling and web features. We are beginning to start this design work with Fruition and we will share visual updates with the campus community soon, along with opportunities for feedback.

Content Audits

As the spring semester gets started, please review your website to look for any dates or deadlines that need to be updated for the 2024-25 academic year. This is also a good time to review these web guidelines, such as using headings correctly, to ensure the content is meeting accessibility guidelines.

We know how important the website is in helping future and current students learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and we appreciate the many faculty and staff who partner with us to review and update their sites.

Thank you for your support during this process and go Trojans!

The post University Website Redesign Update 鈥� Jan. 2024 appeared first on University Website Redesign.

The fall semester is in full swing, and we鈥檇 like to share an update on the progress the Office of Communications and Marketing is making toward the redesigned university website.

Recent Updates

We recently completed several updates to tools and plugins that support the university website:

• Updated the university events calendar to have a more modern and clean design with enhanced features
• Created a custom site-search tool for the Policy website to make it easier to find specific policies
• Updated our Yoast SEO plugin which is used to enhance our site鈥檚 search rankings

Wireframes and Design

This fall, we are focusing on finishing the wireframes and working on the designs. A wireframe is a visual guide that represents the framework of a website. It is similar to how a floor plan shows the structure and layout of a house. The completed wireframes will then be turned into designs that will show the colors, fonts, and styling of the new site. We are excited to share this progress with the campus soon.

Website Content Audits

The ualr.edu website includes more than 180 sites and nearly 7,000 pages. We continue to work with departments to review and update their website content. To better support departments, we are scheduling meetings with editors to expedite the review process and determine what edits are needed. Learn more about the content audit process and how you can get started.

These site updates focus on the content and minor design improvements. The theme and overall look will not change until the new site is built. This is why it鈥檚 imperative to review and update the content, so that outdated and irrelevant information isn鈥檛 brought over to the new site.

Recently completed sites:

Construction Management
Interpreter Education
Speech Language Pathology
Applied Science
Physics
Geology
Chemistry
Business Information Systems
Accounting
Economics and Finance
International Business
Marketing
Management
History
Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Studies

Before and After

The content updates for the Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering site were completed in April. Since then, pageviews to the Bachelor of Science in Civil & Construction Engineering page are up 625% and time spent on that page is up 51%.

Pageviews to the Bachelor of Science in Construction Management page are up 263%. Additionally, entries to the site鈥檚 Request More Information form have tripled when compared to the same time period.

The Business Information Systems and Analytics site was reviewed and updated in May. Since then, the site鈥檚 overall pageviews have increased by 12%.

We know how important the website is in helping future and current students learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and we appreciate the many faculty and staff who partnered with us this summer to review and update their sites.

Thank you for your support during this process and go Trojans!

The post University Website Redesign Update 鈥� Oct. 2023 appeared first on University Website Redesign.

We鈥檇 like to share an update on the progress the Office of Communications and Marketing is making toward the redesigned university website.

Wireframes

We are excited to move into Phase 3 and begin work on wireframes for the new site. A wireframe is a visual guide that represents the framework of a website. It is similar to how a floor plan shows the structure and layout of a house. A wireframe does not include design (such as color, font, or imagery) but shows the overall structure of a webpage. As mentioned in our previous campus email, we are working with a higher education expert, OHO Interactive, and they are providing feedback and insight for our wireframes.

Focus Groups and Feedback

We look forward to sharing the wireframes with the campus community. This will be a chance for you to hear more about our plans and provide feedback. We will share information about these opportunities soon.

Survey for WordPress Editors

We recently sent out a survey to our WordPress users who have access to edit a site. We are working with OHO to review the survey results so we can learn about ways to improve user roles and capabilities, as we will have enhanced user roles with the new site.

Website Content Audits

The ualr.edu website includes more than 180 sites and nearly 7,000 pages. We continue to work with departments to review and update their website content. To better support departments, we are scheduling meetings with editors to expedite the review process and determine what edits are needed. Learn more about the content audit process and how you can get started.

We know how important the website is in helping future and current students learn more about 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and we are appreciative to the many faculty and staff who have been working with us to make sure their sites are providing updated and relevant information.

Recently completed sites:

School of Education
Rhetoric and Writing
Theatre Arts
Biology
Blackboard Student Support
eLearning

We appreciate your support during this process. The university redesign site has additional information about how to get started reviewing your site and our Project Blog also includes some helpful tips and updates.

Thank you and Go Trojans!

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